KongArtWeek 2022 - Oneshots and Manyshots

Day 6 - Impermanent Goodbyes

AN: Remember that fic in Sparks Fly that I wrote where Kongpob left Arthit? Well, here it is, the full story. I decided to copy that fic into this so if this feels familiar then you might've read it from my other book, Sparks Fly (weeee, plugging my oneshots book!). I just continued it here. 

Day 6 - Rival Gangs AU

Warning: Graphic Depiction of Violence

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He stared at the profile of the sleeping man beside him, etching into his mind his features. He stared for a long time, and even if he had done this a few million times already, it seemed like it was still not enough. He felt like he still found some new feature every single time.

Like that tiny mole beneath his left eye, for example. He had only found that one just a while ago, when the other succumbed into sleep after their activities, while he stubbornly stayed awake just so he could watch the other sleep.

He reached out a hand, brushed away that stubborn lock of hair that fell longer than the rest. The slumbering man burrowed his head towards the hand, as if it was an automatic reflex. As if it was something as natural as breathing. The small smile on his lips was immediate, also an unconscious response to the other's.

A soft ding broke him out of his reminiscing, turning serious the very next second. He reached out a hand and grasped his phone, getting upset the next instant when he read the message.

His hands turned into fists, turning almost white at the knuckles, before he forced himself to relax. It wouldn't do well for him to explode now. He didn't want his lover to worry. (He didn't want his P'Arthit to find out.)

Moving as gently as he could, he got out of bed and picked his scattered clothes on the floor, donning them back on even in their crumpled state. He also picked up his lover's and neatly deposited them at the foot on his side of the bed. He puttered around the room, his feet deadly silent on the marble floor, tidying things up from when they crashed like tornadoes earlier. He just wanted to prolong his time with his love before the inevitable.

When he ran out of reasons of staying behind, he stalked towards the sleeping person on the bed. Sitting at the edge, he committed the scene in his mind, forever stored in his memory the beauty of the older.

He leaned down and pecked the other at his temple. He was tempted to gather his lover in his arms, squeeze him tight and never let go. He would've done so had it not been for the vibration of his phone in his pocket, reminding him of his mission, of why he was creeping around their shared room like a phantom of the night.

"Goodbye."

Simple. Clean. But it might as well have been chaos. His heart was feeling the tempest building but he tamped it down. He stood up and turned towards the door. As he stepped over the threshold, his face became devoid of all emotions. His heart soon felt at peace as he remembered why he was doing this, the justification of all his actions. Then he left his heart along with the person inside.

Outside, leaning against the door of the apartment unit, stood his right hand man, his keeper of secrets. He straightened up when he emerged from the room.

He took a heavy step forward, and then another, and with every step he took, he killed his emotions one by one, forcing himself to feel nothing at all.

Inside, a breath stuttered and hitched. Slowly, the slumbering man rose from the bed. He gathered his blanket covered knees and hugged them, resting his chin atop. He stared at the closed door with a blank face and silent tears rolling down his cheeks. Only his eyes held the pain he felt, the turmoil, the betrayal.